Functional conservation of rice OsNF-YB/YC and Arabidopsis AtNF-YB/YC proteins in the regulation of flowering time

Yoon Hyung Hwang, Soon Kap Kim, Keh Chien Lee, Young Soo Chung, Jeong Hwan Lee, Jeong Kook Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Key message: Rice OsNF-YBand OsNF-YCcomplement the late flowering phenotype ofArabidopsisnf-ybdouble andnf-yctriple mutants, respectively. In addition, OsNF-YB and OsNF-YC interact with AtNF-YC and AtNF-YB, respectively. Abstract: Plant NUCLEAR FACTOR Y (NF-Y) transcription factors play important roles in plant development and abiotic stress. In Arabidopsis thaliana, two NF-YB (AtNF-YB2 and AtNF-YB3) and five NF-YC (AtNF-YC1, AtNF-YC2, AtNF-YC3, AtNF-YC4, and AtNF-YC9) genes regulate photoperiodic flowering by interacting with other AtNF-Y subunit proteins. Three rice NF-YB (OsNF-YB8, OsNF-YB10, and OsNF-YB11) and five rice OsNF-YC (OsNF-YC1, OsNF-YC2, OsNF-YC4, OsNF-YC6, and OsNF-YC7) genes are clustered with two AtNF-YB and five AtNF-YC genes, respectively. To investigate the functional conservation of these NF-YB and NF-YC genes in rice and Arabidopsis, we analyzed the flowering phenotypes of transgenic plants overexpressing the respective OsNF-YB and OsNF-YC genes in Arabidopsis mutants. Overexpression of OsNF-YB8/10/11 and OsNF-YC2 complemented the late flowering phenotype of Arabidopsis nf-yb2 nf-yb3 and nf-yc3 nf-yc4 nf-yc9 mutants, respectively. The rescued phenotype of 35S::OsNF-YC2 nf-yc3 nf-yc4 nf-yc9 plants was attributed to the upregulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1). In vitro and in planta protein–protein analyses revealed that OsNF-YB8/10/11 and OsNF-YC1/2/4/6/7 interact with AtNF-YC3/4/9 and AtNF-YB2/3, respectively. Our data indicate that some OsNF-YB and OsNF-YC genes are functional equivalents of AtNF-YB2/3 and AtNF-YC3/4/9 genes, respectively, and suggest functional conservation of Arabidopsis and rice NF-Y genes in the control of flowering time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)857-865
Number of pages9
JournalPlant Cell Reports
Volume35
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Apr 1

Keywords

  • AtNF-YB/YC
  • Flowering time
  • NUCLEAR FACTOR Y transcription factors
  • OsNF-YB/YC
  • Protein–protein interaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Functional conservation of rice OsNF-YB/YC and Arabidopsis AtNF-YB/YC proteins in the regulation of flowering time'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this